Loving the spotlight

The most successful woman in country music history has been a "ham" since she was 1 year old.

Tony Sauro

The most successful woman in country music history has been a "ham" since she was 1 year old.

That's one reason being a television actor ranks No. 1 on Reba McEntire's list of multi-media successes.

"You get a different script all the time and it's just so much fun," said McEntire. "TV's my favorite."

While she's been able to take most of the summer off, McEntire begins taping her second sitcom ("Malibu Country") on Sept. 1. It'll be on the air (CMT and ABC Family) by November. "Reba," her 2001-07 series, re-runs on CMT starting Aug. 1.

Meanwhile, she brings her nine-piece band to Ironstone Amphitheatre in Murphys on Saturday night.

During a 35-year career, McEntire has released 44 albums - selling 80 million copies. Her 55 No. 1 singles include "Turn on the Radio," from her most recent recording ("All the Women I Am," 2010).

McEntire, who first sang "Away in the Manger" as an infant, has appeared in 11 movies, two Broadway plays, written two books, been named to the Country Music Hall of Fame and won 45 music awards.

"I don't think I imagined any of this," said McEntire, 57, who was born in Kiowa, Okla., and grew up in McAlester. "Even with singin', I didn't get my first royalty check until 1988."

Now, they'll never stop arriving.

Her new series - McEntire is executive producer of "Malibu Country" - has a musical theme.

In the show's pilot - developed from a one-page proposal by Dave Stewart of England's Eurythmics - the relationship between married country singers unravels after she discovers he's having an affair with a backup singer. Lily Tomlin plays her mom.

"I had to move my family out here from the fishbowl of Nashville," McEntire said of her TV character. "There's a lot of hillbilly in it. " I haven't seen the story lines yet, but it has so many legs to branch off of."

McEntire also portrayed a divorced mom in the "Reba" sitcom (WB and CW).

"It makes me feel wonderful," McEntire said of "Reba's" cable-network revival. "Still, I wasn't really surprised. When the series was canceled, we had so many stories left. I was really disappointed."

Though she's endured some disappointment - and one still-haunting tragedy - McEntire has experienced a lot more uplifting achievements.

A childhood admirer of Annie Oakley, she was critically praised for her Broadway performance in "Annie Get Your Gun" (2001). She also portrayed the sharp-shooter in "Buffalo Girls," a 1995 movie in which Anjelica Houston played Calamity Jane.

"That's the hardest thing I've ever done," McEntire said. "But I wanted to be on that stage."

After a six-month run, she jumped right into an "all-girl" country-music tour and then "Reba."

Writing her two books - "Reba: My Story" (1995) and "Comfort From a Country Quilt" (1999) - was just as challenging: "It's hard. You see the good times and bad times on paper and wonder if you want people to see all this."

As a child, Reba Nell McEntire, the third of four children, "wanted to sing. Not sing around the house or in the shower. I wanted to be in front of somebody."

Her grandfather and father (Clark) were professional steer-ropers. Her grandmother and mother (Jacqueline) were teachers.

"Mama taught us how" to harmonize in the car as they followed dad's rodeo circuit. In the winter, she played basketball. In the autumn, the sibling singers would perform. Between ages 11 and 21, McEntire was a rodeo barrel-racer.

At Southeastern Oklahoma State University, she majored in elementary education, but "Lord no, I wasn't gonna be a teacher."

She kept singing, including the national anthem at the 1975 U.S. rodeo finals in Oklahoma City. Country singer Red Steagall was impressed and took her to Nashville. McEntire released her first record in 1975, but received no payments until 1988.

A determined devotee of traditional country music (fiddles, steel guitars), she's considered the genre's "queen." She deferred, paying homage to Kitty Wells, an inspiration who died Monday at age 92.

"My heart goes out to her fans and family," said McEntire, raised on the music of Wells, Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline and others. "What fortitude. I mean she was a pioneer. She paved the road for all of us. Dolly (Parton), Loretta (Lynn) and Tammy (Wynette)."

McEntire's heart still aches for the eight members of her band who perished in a March 16, 1991, plane crash near San Diego. She and husband Narvel Blackstock visited the site on July 4.

"Absolutely, it still affects us," McEntire said. "We still miss them terribly. 'Why? Why did this have to happen?' That's the one question I'm gonna ask when I get up there. I can't wait to see them again."

During her "slow" summer, McEntire and Blackstock have traveled to Ireland and followed son Shelby, 22, who races grand-am cars. McEntire's step-son, Brandon, is managing country singer Blake Shelton.

Her two step-daughters are beauticians and two of her grandchildren are spending the summer in L.A. She and Blackstock also have a home in Nashville.

"I just feel very, very blessed," McEntire said of her multi-dimensional career. "I'm very fortunate for what I do. It's not my goal. When you're searching, nothing seems to happen. When you sit back and let down a bit, it happens."

Contact Tony Sauro at (209) 546-8267 or tsauro@recordnet.com.

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